Louisiana Book Festival this Saturday in Baton Rouge

The Louisiana Book Festival marks its fifth year from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, featuring more than 250 authors and more than 100 programs. This free, family-friendly, annual festival celebrating readers, writers, and their books returns to downtown Baton Rouge’s Capitol Park with events and programming in the Louisiana State Capitol, State Library of Louisiana, Capitol Park Museum, Capitol Park Welcome Center and in tents on neighboring streets. Authors will be available to sign books in the Barnes and Noble tent, where all featured titles will also be available for purchase.

The 2018 festival also includes the Young Readers Pavilion, where children and parents may enjoy children’s authors, storytelling performances, book-related crafts, face painting and balloon animals; Teen HQ, featuring bestselling and award-winning young adult authors and activities; live musical performances; cooking demonstrations; and a wide variety of book-related activities and exhibitors.

Authors attending this year’s festival include Pulitzer Prize winner Jack E. Davis, Ernest J. Gaines, Chef Isaac Toups and poet GennaRose Nethercott whose book “The Lumberjack’s Dove” was selected as a winner of the National Poetry Series. Yours truly will be moderating a panel with mystery authors Ashley Weaver and Ellen Byron titled “Louisiana Ladies of Mystery.” To learn more about who's attending the 15th Louisiana Book Festival, click here.

  

Yes, we stole this from Instagram

Now in its tenth year, the One Book, One Festival program invites attendees to read the same title in advance and later join the scholar-led discussion with others during the festival. LSU professor Dr. Katie Henninger will lead this year’s discussion of E.P. O'Donnell's 1941 literary and cultural classic novel "The Great Big Doorstep."

This year’s official festival artwork was created by Louisiana native William Joyce, Academy Award-winning writer, illustrator, and filmmaker, and features his character Mr. Morris Lessmore from his short film "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore." Signed, commemorative posters will be available for purchase along with T-shirts, tote bags, souvenir pins, mugs, and a special 15th anniversary Christmas ornament.

Pre-festival events on Friday, Nov 9, at the State Library include half-day WordShops, which offer opportunities for aspiring writers of all levels to work in an intimate setting with renowned authors. This year, The New York Times bestselling Jonathan Evison, Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick Tessa Fontaine, and acclaimed essayist LSU writing professor Joshua Wheeler are leading writing wordshops, while authors Suzanne Hudson and Joe Formichella will be leading a wordshop on self-publishing.

For more information, including how to register for WordShops and sign-up to volunteer and receive a free Louisiana Book Festival t-shirt, please visit www.LouisianaBookFestival.org.

Louisiana Book News is written by award-winning author Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances and mysteries under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Her first book in each series is FREE to download as an ebook, including "Emilie," book one of The Cajun Series, "Ticket to Paradise," book one of The Cajun Embassy series and "A Ghost of a Chance," the first Viola Valentine mystery.